


acceptance

by orphan_account, potteraeken



Series: Sacrifice [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Blood and Injury, First Kiss, Fluff, Good Theo Raeken, Hurt Theo Raeken, Hurt/Comfort, Liam-centric, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Pack Bonding, Sad Liam, Stiles Stilinski is a Little Shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:48:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26428894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/potteraeken/pseuds/potteraeken
Summary: Liam is still with Mason and Corey, lounging in the living room, movie marathon finished, when he hears the howl. His hand stills halfway through reaching for a slice of pizza. All his senses go haywire and his thought become jumbled. There is only the overwhelming feeling of find-find-find. Its only later when the howl cuts off and his head clears that he realizes, he knows that howl.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Sacrifice [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921051
Comments: 15
Kudos: 129





	acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for Blood, Injury and mentions of Death.  
> Thank you all so much for all the positive feedback on the first part!!! It turned out a bit longer than the first part but anyways. Enjoy <3

**LIAM’S POV**

Liam is still with Mason and Corey, lounging in the living room, movie marathon finished, when he hears the howl. His hand stills halfway through reaching for a slice of pizza. All his senses go haywire and his thought become jumbled. There is only the overwhelming feeling of _find-find-find._ Its only later when the howl cuts off and his head clears that he realizes, he knows that howl. 

His head snaps to the side as someone calls his name and he looks up at Mason and Corey, looking at him with equally wide eyes. 

“Did you guys hear that?”, Liam asks a little breathless. 

“Not me but- “, Mason starts to say but Corey cuts him off. 

“I did”, he says. “I did and Liam its- “, he starts again with more than a little concern in his voice when Liam finishes his sentence for him. 

“Theo”, Liam breathes. 

* * *

Liam is up and out of his house before he’s even registered where he’s going. Only as he’s unlocking the car and starting the engine does he realize Mason and Corey have followed him out. 

“What are you guys doing?”, Liam says impatiently. He doesn’t have _time_ for this. 

“What? You expect us to sit and wait while Theo could be- “, Corey starts but cuts himself off abruptly seemingly not wanting to finish the sentence. Corey and Theo had grown pretty close after the war, maybe it had something to do with their previous pack connection, but whatever it was Corey clearly cared about him. 

“We’re going Liam”, Mason says with a tone of finality. 

And Liam frankly doesn’t have the headspace to argue right now so he lets it go and pulls out the driveway just as Mason and Corey finish getting in the car. 

* * *

Its barely been five minutes when Mason speaks up, 

“Do you even know where you’re going?” 

There is an awkward pause. “I have a feeling”, Liam replies. 

“You have a feeling?”, Mason asks incredulously. 

“Yes, Mason I have a feeling”, Liam replies hotly, hands clenching on the steering wheel. “It’s not like the howl gave me exact coordinates so please just- “ 

“You should call Scott”, Corey interrupts. 

“You think he heard it too?”, Mason asks looking back at Corey in the backseat from his place in the passenger side of Liam's car. 

“Yes, I mean we both did so...”, Corey trails off but Liam gets his point. 

“Okay, yeah", Liam says more to himself as he wrestles his phone out of his pocket. 

* * *

Scott picks at the first ring. 

“Scott?”, Liam asks as he puts the phone on speaker. 

“Liam, where are you?”, Scott asks hastily. 

“I'm with Mason and Corey right now. Scott did you- “ 

“Yeah. I heard it”, Scott cuts him off. “So did everyone else. We’re headed to that warehouse at- “ 

Mason cuts him off, “Wait how did you know- “ 

“The sound came from the edge of the town and there’s only one abandoned warehouse there, the sheriff checked, I just got off the phone with him.”, Scott clarifies. 

“Ok", Liam replies, swallowing around the fear and worry clogging his throat. “Can you send me the location?” 

* * *

When the pack arrives at the warehouse, they all instantly know it’s the right location. If the scent of wolfsbane wasn’t a dead giveaway, the heartbeats of at least a dozen people are. But Liam listens past them for that one heartbeat and finds it but it's so faint that his initial relief at hearing it turns immediately into concern and then anger. Mason, Lydia and Stiles, who also apparently insisted on coming, stay behind while the rest of them go inside, the Sheriff and his deputies were on their way over with Argent soon. 

Liam finds Theo after the growling, slashing and gunshot sounds have died down. He finds him on the ground in front an electric fence, _covered_ in blood, so much blood it's hard to discern which wound its coming out of. 

“Theo”, Liam breathes out as he slides to his knees by his head, his eyes are closed and his breathing faint. “Hey Theo”. Liam moves forward and cups his face with shaking hands. He starts taking Theo's pain and Theo takes in a shuddering, hitching breath, eyes still closed. The sound of it making something painful twist in Liam's chest. 

“Liam", someone calls out gently. He looks up to see the pack gathered in a circle, clothes bloody and eyes soft, looking at him. “We need to get him to the hospital”, Scott says, he’d been the one who’d spoken apparently. 

“Yeah”, Liam agrees nodding his head and wiping away tears from his face that he hadn’t even noticed had fell. “Yeah, we need to-", Liam continues but Derek cuts him off. 

“Here, let me", he says motioning towards Theo's body still on the ground. Liam nods and only takes his hands away from Theo for a moment as Derek picks him up. And then he takes Theo's hand and starts taking his pain again as they take him out to the cars walking through the beaten and unconscious bodies of the hunters. 

* * *

The Sherriff and Argent were dealing with the hunters and so the Pack had all camped out at the hospital waiting area; waiting for either Liam's Dad, Melissa or Deaton, who’d been called to the hospital, to come out and update them on Theo’s condition. Liam's parents had been made aware of all things supernatural after the anuk-ite and when Theo had come to live with them, they had instantly dubbed him their favorite. Liam had pretended to be annoyed about it but really he was always pleased to see the small shy smiles Theo would give his parents every time they gushed over him about something. While they’re all waiting, Argent stops by the hospital and informs them about the hunters’ status, _The hunters weren’t Monroe’s._ That simple sentence invokes a flurry of questions that Argent stops with the explanation of exactly _who_ the hunters were and _why_ they were here _._

_That absolute fucking idiot_ , Liam says into the stunned silence that had fallen on the pack members after learning about Theo's 'heroic' act. The tense moment is broken when Melissa comes out and tells them that Theo is going to make it. _He’s still sleeping and he’ll probably stay asleep for a while because his natural healing is still slow from all the wolfsbane injected into his system. Why don’t you all go change your clothes and get some rest._ The Pack members all leave after that, Mason and Corey hesitate for a while at Liam’s side but at Melissa’s insistence they also get up and leave. But Liam, Liam snaps at anyone who attempts to makes him leave, and stays. That is until Liam's mom arrives, informed by his dad, who first chews his ear off for not calling her, then forces him into a bathroom in a nearby hallway to change his clothes and get the blood off his hands and face. She’d known apparently that he wouldn’t go home so she’d brought him a change of clothes. Its only after he’d changed and sat down beside her that she really looks at him, at his lost expression and the worry and fear beneath it, and wraps him in a tight hug. 

“He’s going to be okay, honey. Everything's going to be okay", she says in a soothing tone while rubbing her hand up and down his back. Tears start streaming down his face and he lets them, he stays wrapped up in his mother’s embrace and lets the emotions he’d been keeping at bay, escape through his tears. 

* * *

Liam is in the room with Theo when he wakes up. He had been staring at his peaceful sleeping face devoid of any blood and trying to replace it with the bloody picture of his face from just a few hours before, but the image keeps flashing through his mind and he has a feeling it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He startles a little when Theo opens his eyes, he’d apparently been too deep in his thoughts to notice Theo's heartbeat speeding a little as he wakes up. Theo looks around the room and then straight at Liam sitting in the chair by the bed. 

“Liam”, Theo speaks but his voice is all dry and croaky. So Liam looks around for water and pours him a glass from the Jug on the bedside table, all without sparing a glance at Theo who’s clearly trying to meet his eyes, looking a little lost. 

Liam hands out the glass of water to Theo, eyes deliberately kept on the glass in his hand. Theo takes the glass, drinks the water and hands back the empty glass to Liam. 

“How did I- “, Theo starts to say as he realizes that Liam isn’t going to say anything, when he just sits back in his chair after placing the glass back at the bedside table, but cuts himself off and starts again, “I mean how did you- “. 

Liam takes some pity on him and replies with his tone as flat and his response as short as he can make it, “We heard you howl.” 

Understanding dawns on Theo's face and his scent loses its confused edge as he works out the rest himself. 

An awkward silence ensues as Liam sits at his chair, arms folded and gaze fixed at a spot on the far wall, and Theo shifts and darts a look at him every two seconds. 

Deciding he’d apparently had enough of the awkwardness Theo speaks, “Liam- “, he tries but Liam just snaps, “Shut up, Theo.” Theo winces and clamps his jaw shut. 

But after some seconds of stewing in his anger Liam snaps again, “What. The. Fuck were you thinking? No actually scratch that, you clearly weren’t. Because if you had, you would have realized what kind of a stupid decision that was.” 

Theo grimaces but, “I didn’t exactly have a choice Liam it was either me or- “, he starts to explain a little defensively but Liam isn’t having any of it. 

“Or what Theo? Us? A pack of supernatural members who have proven time and time again that they can fight against anything? This wasn’t even a _supernatural being_. These were hunters that we’d fought and won against just a few months before”, Liam replies hotly. 

“These weren’t the same hunters Liam, they- “ 

“They what had a different motive? So what? Doesn’t make them any more or less dangerous than Monroe’s hunters had been”, Liam counters with his tone vehement against the indignant edge Theo's voice had taken. 

Theo falls silent at that but Liam is on a roll so he continues anyways, “Jesus Theo. I thought you were maybe having a moment when were talking on the phone earlier but I had no idea you were – wait”, Liam stops abruptly. 

“Oh god”, Liam breathes out, eyes going wide and a horrible realization dawning on him. Theo's head snaps to his from where he’d looked away. 

“That phone call was- was what a _suicide note_ ? You were going to - going to die and leave me with _that?_ _”_

“What? Liam. No. I wasn’t- “ Theo starts to say hastily but Liam just stands up and turns away from him, hands coming up to cover his face. Theo blows out a frustrated breath, pushes the covers away and starts to stand from the bed but stumbles as his feet touch the ground. Liam is immediately at his side and guiding him to sit back on the bed, “What are you doing you need to lay down- “, he starts to berate him, pushing at his shoulders to get him to lie back again, but Theo interrupts. 

“Well maybe if you’d just listen to me than I wouldn’t have to take such _drastic_ measures “, he replies irritated, with a sarcastic emphasis on 'drastic’. Liam takes a step back as Theo sits on the bed’s edge. 

“Well maybe if you’d just use your brain cells for once in your life and not be a selfish asshole, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place”, He snaps vehemently. 

“ _Selfish_ _?_ ", Theo says after a stunned second, his voice taking a high note. 

“Yes. Selfish. You only thought about yourself. If you’d stopped and thought about what it’d do to everyone else if something happened to you- “, He stops, swallows around the lump in his throat, tears burning the corners of his eyes and continues, “what it’d do to _me._ Than you would never have done what you did”, He finishes with his raw from emotion. All at once the fight melts away from Theo's posture and he looks up at Liam with wide, stunned eyes. 

A few long seconds pass as Liam looks away and Theo comes back a little to himself. 

“I wanted to hear your voice”, Theo says abruptly and Liam head snaps back to him. Their eyes meet and Theo continues, “I called you because I wanted to hear your voice before I- “, he cuts himself off and looks down at his hands in his lap. “I didn’t think you would take it that way.” 

Liam looks at him a little longer, at his hunched over position at the edge of the bed, and takes a step towards him. Theo looks up as he approaches, his expression open and eyes shining with tears and the last of Liam's anger fades away. He puts a hand on Theo's shoulder and gently pushes him back to settle down on the bed properly, Theo takes the hint and complies. Just as he finishes getting settled on the bed, his legs pulled up and back resting against pillows, Liam sits on the bed at his side and looks away from Theo’s searching eyes. 

Theo looks at the side of Liam’s face a little longer, Liam can feel the weight of his gaze, and then says, “I’m- I’m sorry Liam. Not for trying to protect you, I’d do that again in a heartbeat, but for not thinking properly. I was so entangled with my own guilt that I- “ 

“Protect _me_?”, Liam interrupts suddenly, looking at Theo again, voice taking a surprised note. 

“What?”, Theo asks thrown. 

“You said protect _me_ not- not the pack, _me_ _.” ,_ Liam explains. 

Theo blinks, caught, his cheeks flushing a little as he stares at Liam. 

“I- well that’s what I meant I mean you’re part of the pack so of course you know it’ll involve you and obviously- “, Theo is just stuttering and rambling at this point, so Liam decides to put him out of his self-dug hole as he moves forward to press his lips to Theo's own, his hands framing Theo's face. Some surprised seconds later Theo opens his mouth and kisses back, hands coming up to clutch at Liam's shirt. The kiss is soft and slow, Liam tilts head a little to the side to deepen it and Theo just melts into it, hands moving towards Liam’s hair to clutch at, as Liam’s hand fall to his waist trying to pull him more close 

Liam pulls away some indeterminate time later, hands still on Theo’s waist, and says a little breathlessly, “I’m still mad at you” 

“Uhuh”, Theo says distractedly, attention still focused on Liam's lips. 

“Hey”, Liam says putting a little more distance between them, hands coming up to tilt Theo's face to meet his eyes. “I’m serious. Don’t pull something like this again. I can’t- I can’t do this again”, Liam tries to say firmly but his voice wavers some at the end. 

Theo expression clears and then softens, he takes his hands and wraps them around Liam's, still around his face, and drops his forehead against Liam's. 

“I won’t”, Theo says eyes shutting close, voice taking a firm note as he repeats, “I won’t.” 

* * *

**THEO’S POV**

Their moment is suddenly broken as loud, over exaggerated coughing starts just outside the room's door. Liam and Theo both jump apart and look simultaneously towards the door as the coughing starts sounding more and more like someone is choking. _You can stop that now Stiles, I think they heard you,_ Derek’s long-suffering voice carries through the room’s closed door. 

Theo groans and drops his head on Liam's shoulder, who’s looking a mixture of embarrassed and amused with his cheeks flushing and lips quirking in a small smile. 

“Please tell me they haven’t been here this whole time" , Theo asks, seeming more like he’s praying they weren’t. 

The room door opens and Scott pokes his head through, Stiles trying to look over his shoulder, Theo just buries his face more against Liam's shoulder. 

“We uh- we didn’t want to disturb you guys. It looked like you were working some things out" , Scott says sheepishly with his usual dorky charm. 

“Please kill me", Theo whispers against Liam's shoulder. Liam, the traitor, just chuckles and pushes his head away from his shoulder. Theo glares at him but the effect is a little lost with his flaming red cheeks. 

“Oh stop being a baby, it’s not like we caught you having sex or something” , Malia butts in boldly while pushing the door open and coming in with the pack trailing in after her. 

Theo just shifts his glare over to her as Liam splutters and lets out a choked noise beside him, looking at Malia with his cheeks getting a little more red. 

Scott blissfully ignores the whole exchange and looks at Theo as he asks, “You feeling okay now Theo? do I need to call my mom?” 

“There’s no need. I’m fine” , Theo replies quickly. 

“You sure?”, Liam asks skeptically. 

Theo just rolls his eyes and huffs out, “I’m sure.” 

“Okay great. Now that that’s settled, do you know how long we’ve all been waiting for you two to figure your shit out seriously-", Stiles starts but Lydia just rolls her eyes and grabs him by the arm to start dragging him out of the room. 

As they leave, Stiles complaining the whole way, Scott turns towards Theo again and says, “Theo, not that I don’t appreciate you looking out for the pack but that- That was a stupid move.” 

“A really stupid move", Corey adds in from where he’d been standing with Mason, watching the whole exchange with amusement up until now. Theo looks at him a little guiltily but, “Save the lecture. I’m sure you all heard Liam shouting at me just a few minutes ago”, says a little grudgingly. 

“Well he did more than just shout”, Mason adds slyly, winking at Liam who just hisses out a scandalized _Mason._

Derek rolls his eyes at them and turns to Theo to say, “This is not about lecturing Theo, this is about you realizing that what you just did? That’s not acceptable pack behavior. Pack members don’t go out alone to fight everyone else’s battles. A pack fights _together_.” 

Theo looks at him stunned, his brain a little stuck on the word _pack member_. 

“As much as I don’t like it, you are a member of this pack now so get over it and pull your shit together”, Malia adds in helpfully but as much as her words are rash, her tone is anything but. And Theo's head is spinning a little at all this acceptance that he’d never had, being handed to him like he’s an idiot to not expect it. 

Liam who’d been silent throughout the whole scenario takes one look at Theo's face and grabs his hand in his. The weight and warmth of it comforting and centering Theo's flailing thoughts a bit. 

“Next time something like this happens, Talk to us. Okay?”, Scott adds gently. 

Theo just nods his head still trying to regain some composure. The pack all head back out again then, Scott saying something about getting his mom to check up on Theo and get him discharged. 

After they leave Liam tightens his hand around Theo's and asks, “Hey, you ok?” 

“Really wish everyone would stop asking that”, Theo says a little sarcastically. 

Liam just shrugs and keeps on looking at him. Theo sighs and assures him, “I’m fine Liam just- just a little overwhelmed.” 

Liam nods, looks at their hands intertwined on the bed and after a moment opens his mouth. 

“Hey Theo, thank you.”, he says with a fond smile on his face, looking back up into his eyes again. 

Theo looks at him a little incredulously, having a feeling where this is going but humoring him anyway, “For what?” 

“For saving me. All those times. I guess I never said it either but I’m glad you did.”, Liam says eyes shining and lips stretching in a dorky grin. 

“You are so corny.” , Theo says, helplessly smiling back. 

“Shut up and accept my gratitude, you asshole”, Liam says, voice soft with a smile, as he leans in and kisses him again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope the wait was worth it :)


End file.
